Vendors

Microsoft's top sales and marketing executive, Orlando Ayala, will leave that position to help lead the company's push to sell more software to small and medium-sized businesses.

Ayala joined Microsoft in 1991 and most recently served as group vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. In his new position Ayala will work closely with Microsoft Business Solutions' president Doug Burgum to lift sales at the Microsoft unit that sells business applications, a Microsoft spokesman said.

As vice president of small and mid-market solutions and partners, Ayayala will be responsible for heading up heading a sales and marketing group. His organisation will operate on a global scale and should be fully in place from July 1, Anne Bove-Nielsen, a European spokeswoman for Microsoft Business Solutions, said.

The move is not a demotion for Ayala, but an opportunity to "lead one of the most incredible opportunities for Microsoft," the spokesman said. In his new role, Ayala will report to Microsoft Group vice president Jeff Raikes. A replacement for Ayala will be named in the coming weeks, he said.

Ayala will remain a member of Microsoft's Business Leadership Team, a group that shares responsibility with Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive officer, for broad strategic and business planning for the entire company, Bove-Nielsen said.

Microsoft is making a total investment of more than US$2 billion in product development and partner readiness and sales resources for Business Solutions, which targets companies with up to 1000 employees.

Microsoft Business Solutions makes software to help small and medium-sized businesses manage supply chains, finances and customer relationships. Microsoft entered the business application market when it bought Great Plains Software in late 2000 and expanded that with the takeover of Danish software developer Navision last year. Chief competitors include SAP, Oracle and Siebel Systems.

Slideshows

ARN Connect - How can partners create customer value through cloud and security?

This exclusive ARN Connect event, in association with Juniper Networks and Westcon-Comstor, deep dived into the key customer priorities during the next 12 months, outlining emerging partner opportunities while drawing up a blueprint for cloud and security success.

Selling beyond the CIO – How partners can influence the new breed of tech buyers

This ARN Roundtable, in association with Oracle, highlighted the emergence of a new breed of technology buyer, assessing how partners can engage outside of IT, and the skills required to sell across new business units.

Copyright 2018 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.